title: General practitioner involvement in follow-up of childhood cancer survivors: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An increasing number of childhood cancer survivors need long-term follow-up care. Different models address this problem, including that of follow-up by general practitioners (GP). We describe models that involve GPs in follow-up for childhood cancer survivors, their advantages and disadvantages, clinics that employ these models, and the elements essential to high-quality, GP-led follow-up care.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched four databases (PubMed [including Medline], Embase, Cochrane, and CINAHL) without language restrictions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found 26 publications, which explicitly mentioned GP-led follow-up. Two models were commonly described: GP-only, and shared care between GP and pediatric oncology or late effects clinic. The shared care model appears to have advantages over GP-only follow-up. We found four clinics using models of GP-led follow-up, described in five papers. We identified well-organized transition, treatment summary, survivorship care plan, education of GPs and guidelines as necessary components of successful follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Scarcity of literature necessitated a review rather than a meta-analysis. More research on the outcomes of GP-led care is necessary to confirm the model for follow-up of childhood cancer survivors in the long term. However, with the necessary elements in place, the model of GP-led follow-up, and shared care in particular, holds promise.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry, Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.forename: Micòl E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Gianinazzi
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hohn
authors.forename: Claudia E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Kuehni
authors.forename: Gisela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Michel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D039781:PubMed; D017741:Survivors
keywords: childhood cancer; family physician; follow-up; general practitioner; primary care; survivor